Linda Borg -- A View from Tiverton: Union Public Library is homey place to read, relax, reconnect

Saturday

Aug 2, 2014 at 9:27 PM

Twenty years ago, when I was renting a cottage near Tiverton Four Corners, I discovered a jewel box of a library with weathered brown shingles and a shady backyard.At first, I thought it was a private...

Linda Borg Journal Staff Writer @lborgprojocom

TIVERTON, R.I. -- Twenty years ago, when I was renting a cottage near Tiverton Four Corners, I discovered a jewel box of a library with weathered brown shingles and a shady backyard.

At first, I thought it was a private home. But then I saw the modest sign, Union Public Library. It was a foggy day, and I had already run through my summer novels, so I opened the door.

Inside, the rooms — all three of them — were tiny.

Everywhere you looked, you could see this building was a testament to the past, from the wavy glass window panes to the century-old hinges, from the yellow pine floors to the egg-shaped ceiling.

Even the dry-paper smell conjured up an earlier time.

Founded in 1820, the Union Public Library is the oldest library in Tiverton and the second-oldest in Newport County.

When the library was first organized as a private gentleman’s club, only “fair and honorable company” could belong and any person guilty of disorderly behavior could be expelled. The only books allowed in the collection were those with serious intent: history, biography, philosophy, theology and the sciences.

Fiction was considered racy and not permitted until 1837.

The library is a hybrid affair — the building and grounds are privately owned and maintained by members but it is a public library affiliated with the Tiverton Public Library. Members pay an annual fee of five dollars.

There is ample evidence that this is a building well-loved. Baskets of red geraniums and tiny American flags decorate the shelves. Wicker furniture provides a cozy reading nook. And, on a recent visit, a pitcher of iced tea sits sweating on the table.

Although it has moved several times, the Union Library has been a presence in a community with little else to anchor it. Youngsters grew up reading “The Little Prince” in the children’s room, where picture books are stored in pint-sized houses.

“When I was little, it was like an extension of my own home,” said Lynn Perrault, a library association member.

The librarians have enjoyed a longevity not seen in contemporary times. The first librarian, Miss Esther J. Manchester, served from 1894 until 1941. The next two librarians, Edna Snell and Katherine Lake, served a total of 28 years.

For adults of a certain age, the library is a special place — almost sacred. It’s where they learned how stories can transport one to a faraway place. It is where they learned that hushed places are magical. It’s where they were taught that books are fragile, to be treated with respect.

“People are committed to this library,” said Gayle Lawrence, 68, president of the library association. “That makes it exceedingly special.”

It is also a place where locals bump into each other and trade a little gossip.

“When I come, it’s always a treat to see friends,” said Barbara Martin, 39, a member. “It’s like an extension of my family.”

Members felt so protective of the library that they initially fought joining the state library system.

Even the books are old. There is a copy of Dante’s “Inferno” illustrated with William Blake’s watercolors. Walt Whitman’s epic poem, “Leaves of Grass,” has a library card that says the last borrower was in 1940.

The reference room, only large enough to fit a couple of adults, contains the World Book Encyclopedia. It also houses books that trace the ancestry of Tiverton’s founding families, with names like Grinnell and Wilcox.

And it has a copy of the library’s original constitution. The original, dating to 1820s, is preserved in a bank vault. Lawrence said she will never forget the fragility of that document and the legacy of high-mindedness it has left.